Sleigh full of shows: With so many options in Fort Collins, capturing holiday audiences can be a tough nut to crack.

Nov. 15, 2012

CSU Theatre's stage version of the classic 'A Christmas Story' is just one of the holiday shows and concerts vying for audience's attention this season. The show features a rotating cast including two actors playing the lead role of Ralphie, performed by Nate Wozniak (shown) and Andrew Nosler. / Courtesy of Joe A. Mendoza/CSU Photography

It’s not even Thanksgiving yet and Elise Gordon and her family already have sugar plums dancing in their heads — and sugar plum fairies and Ebeneezer Scrooge and Kenny Rogers singing Christmas carols.

Between various versions of “The Nutcracker,” “A Christmas Carol” and Christmas music performances, the Fort Collins stay-at-home mom of two said it isn’t easy choosing family outings that one, the whole family will enjoy, and two, fit the family’s budget.

“It can be overwhelming; there’s just so many things that we want to do during the holidays,” said Gordon, who’s already planning on taking the family to Canyon Concert Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” and going to see Kenny Rogers’ Christmas show at the Budweiser Events Center with her sister.

And while families such as the Gordons are battling with the decision of what to do for the holidays, ’tis the season for local, regional and national productions and artists to begin duking it out for those audiences.

Everyone is doing something related to the holidays right now, said Lincoln Center public relations coordinator Susan Herlihy. Over the years, the community has grown and so have the opportunities.

Balancing what shows the Lincoln Center brings in with what shows local arts groups are doing is important to the venue.

“We are very careful to make sure that we complement the community offerings,” Herlihy said. “We want to let them take center stage.”

That said, there are still regional arts venues to contend with, including Greeley’s Union Colony Civic Center and the Denver Center for Performing Arts.

“We typically only bring in one or two things during the holidays, and we make sure that they are very, very good,” Herlihy said, adding that last year’s touring production of “A Christmas Carol” sold out and this season’s “Christmas with the Celts” show is likely to do the same.

Local groups may have a slight advantage, thanks to the built in “friends and family” audience members. But that only goes so far; the rest, local arts groups say, is finding the right mix of tradition and innovation.

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Variety is indeed the spice of holiday life, according to Ron Jensen of the Foothills Pops Band. The group performs a Cranberry Pops show around Thanksgiving and a Christmas Pops show in December. Jensen said making sure the show has plenty of variety for listeners is essential to capturing the attention of an audience that by early December already may be feeling holiday music fatigue.

For its Cranberry Pops show, the Fort Collins group is featuring the 1812 Overture, a piece more commonly performed during Fourth of July events, yet one that connects with a many different audiences. “Most musical groups play music from one or two particular genres, i.e. rock, R&B, country, etc,” he said. “Our band performs classical, pop, musical theater/movie score, march, Latin, jazz and swing music.”

But what do you do when your holiday show is the same every year — for 31 years?

Canyon Concert Ballet is celebrating its 31st season dancing “The Nutcracker,” but while there is a definite sense of tradition, it’s never really the same show.

It is challenging to compete with all of the offerings this time of year, but having something that is as iconic as “The Nutcracker” helps, said CCB Executive Director Kim Lang, adding, “I don’t think my family would feel the holiday was complete without attending a few performances of ‘The Nutcracker’.”

Bringing in updated choreography, dancers, costumes and sets is essential to setting this production apart from the pack and keeping audiences returning, Lang said.

The Fort Collins ballet company is also expanding its reach, adding performances in Loveland and Cheyenne this season.

“Since the closure of the Lincoln Center, our audiences have been smaller,” Lang said, referencing the 2010 season, during which CCB’s usual home stage was closed for renovations. “They are building, but slowly.”

“The audience is the most important factor we take into consideration,” White said.

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The Larimer Chorale goes old school with its annual Dickens Dinner. The fundraiser features an authentic four-course Victorian feast, complete with wassail and flaming figgy pudding, set to songs by the chorale’s Dickens Carolers. In contrast, its Candlelight Christmas concert is a mix of sacred and secular music, holiday readings and a traditional candlelighting ceremony.

“For the dinners, we reach out to a small group of fans and supporters and provide them an elegant and magical evening,” White said. “For the concerts, we strive to provide music and stories — an overall event to which each person can relate.”

Not every local arts group is celebrating the season, though.

After three years of holiday shows, OpenStage Theatre & Co. is getting back to its own holiday tradition — taking the holiday off.

“It’s nice to have a break,” said OST co-founder and artistic director Denise Freestone, adding that finding a space to put on a show during the holidays is extremely difficult. Besides, it gives her a chance to see what everyone else is doing. When asked what holiday shows she and her husband and OST co-founder Bruce planned to attend this season, Freestone said, “We weren’t able to see Bas Bleu’s ‘Almost, Maine’ last year so we’ll probably go see that.”

CSU theater program director Walt Jones is starting a new tradition with the program’s first holiday show, a stage version of the classic Christmas film “A Christmas Story.”

“It seemed like everyone had gotten on the holiday bandwagon but us,” Jones said, joking about the multitude of holiday concerts at the university. And going with such a classic seemed like a no-brainer.

“The play is so iconic, and people know the dialogue by heart,” he said.

While the stage version differs slightly from the film, Jones said it is filled with most of the beloved references from the film — including Ovaltine, the leg lamp, Chinese turkey, flagpoles and fire departments and soap poisoning.

But holiday shows don’t always have to be about the holidays.

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At Midtown Arts Center, audiences can check out the very merry musical “Plaid Tidings” or they can go a bit darker and try to decipher whodunit at “The Dinner Detective.”

“I think people are just looking to go out and have a good time,” said Midtown owner Kurt Terrio. “If it can be holiday themed, it’s a bonus, but 9 out of 10 patrons say, ‘I don’t care if it’s about Christmas.’”

In fact, murder seems to do quite well during the holidays. Terrio said the theater’s best holiday seller of all time was “Clue: The Musical.”

This season, Bas Bleu Theatre is bringing back its nonholiday holiday production “Almost, Maine.” The series of quirky and sometimes poignant stories under the magic of the northern lights in the small Maine town of Almost is a wintery slice of life that appeals to a broader range of audiences, said Wendy Ishii, Bas Bleu co-founder and artistic director.

“Although ‘Almost, Maine’ embodies all of the warmth of the holiday season, there is not a reindeer, Christmas tree or menorah in sight,” Ishii said, adding that last year the show was Bas Bleu’s all-time second best-seller and many patrons asked for its return this season.

“Attending holiday shows, as well as dance and music concerts, often becomes a family tradition,” Ishii said. “People enjoy seeing familiar presentations year after year. ... Our hope is (to) become a similar beloved chestnut that families will want to share with their friends and visiting relatives.”